INDIANAPOLIS — Phil Emery was the college scouting director of the Chiefs when they used the fifth overall pick in 2010 on safety Eric Berry.

No safety has been drafted higher since Eric Turner went No. 2 to the Browns in 1991. So Emery has experience filling the position at the top of the draft, when teams often wait to find defensive backs. Only 11 safeties have been selected in the top 15 in the last 23 drafts.

The Bears have a clear need to add a playmaker and depth at safety, and Louisville’s Calvin Pryor and Alabama’s Ha Ha Clinton-Dix are considered potential first-round talents even if No. 14, where the Bears are selecting, might be a little rich for them.

The difference between the situation Emery had in Kansas City and the one with the Bears is the Chiefs had some depth in the front seven. Kansas City had acquired defensive linemen Tamba Hali, Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson and linebacker Derrick Johnson in recent drafts, so in adding Berry they were moving to an area that needed to be fortified. The Bears don’t have strength in their front seven. It remains to be seen what will happen in free agency, but the focus at No. 14 easily could be on the defensive line.

Emery has called the three-technique the engine that drives the defense, and if the Bears fail to re-sign Henry Melton there could be multiple candidates available in the draft.

Defensive linemen work out Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium and Pitt’s Aaron Donald has been waiting to put on a show. Donald put up 35 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds and now the 6-foot-1, 285-pounder is in a position to use his athleticism, which should set him apart in drills.

“All I can do is do my part and keep trying to open up eyes with what I did on the football field, what I did in my career on film,” Donald said. “Just go out there and try to compete and shock a couple more people.”

Donald’s lack of size is a legitimate concern, but there were similar knocks on Geno Atkins when he was a fourth-round pick by the Bengals in 2010. No one questions Atkins’ size anymore, and there isn’t a defensive lineman — tackle or end — with more production on tape than Donald. It will take just one team to put aside the size issue and draft Donald.

Florida State’s Timmy Jernigan could go in the first round, but he might be a better fit at nose tackle, where the Bears have Stephen Paea, than the under-tackle position. Jernigan is strong and plays hard, but he doesn’t have the explosiveness and quick-twitch motor of Donald, so he won’t add a lot as a pass rusher.

Minnesota’s Ra’Shede Hageman is an interesting prospect and there are varying opinions about him. He’s 6-6, 318 pounds with great athletic upside. Hageman originally was a tight end in college and still is raw at defensive tackle. Some question the consistency of his tape, but in the right scheme and coached properly, he could take off. Hageman said he has told teams, “I play all the way from a zero-technique all the way to a nine.”

“There’s a lot of great D-tackles here and I feel like I’m definitely a few steps behind them,” Hageman said. “I mean, this is my third year playing D-tackle and I’ve got to where I am now just by being athletic and being strong. But I feel like there’s a lot of D-tackles here that have been playing this position for a long time and I feel that I have to catch up. Just, you know, educated myself more obviously on D-tackle and just be more fundamental because especially when you get to the next round, I feel like everybody in the NFL is athletic, especially the D-tackles.”

Hageman experienced a rough upbringing and bounced around foster homes before he was adopted, so there will be background done on that. But there probably isn’t a bigger, more athletic tackle in the draft.

Notre Dame’s Louis Nix III could be the first tackle drafted, but he is 6-2, 331 and would project more as a nose tackle for the Bears. Florida’s Dominique Easley is interesting. He’d be a sure first-round pick if he wasn’t rehabilitating from a torn ACL. Easley has pass-rushing ability and fits the mold of a three-technique. He will be pushed down to the second or third round and the Bears would have to feel good about where he is physically.

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